SONNETS    ON    THE    WAR 


BY 


COURTNEY    LANGDON 


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SONNETS  ON  THE  WAR 


BY 


COURTNEY     LANGDON 


PROVIDENCE,    R.    1. 

PRESTON  &  ROUNDS  CO. 
I  9  I  7 


Copyright,    1917,   by    CouRTNE^     Langdon 


ALL     RIGHTS     RESERVED 


PRESS      OF      TOWNSENI),     F.     H. 
PROVIDENCE,     R.     I.,    U.     S.     A. 


TO       MY       SONS       IN       FRANCE 

CHAUNCY       TAFT       LANGDON 

AND 

ROBERT  COURTNEY   LANGDON 


PRUSSIA 


/^F  old,  when  time  was  still  eternity, 

God  made  the  angel  Lucifer,  a  bright 
And  rising  star  of  intellectual  light, 
Lord  of  matter  and  necessity. 

But  filled  with  pride,  and  hating  Liberty, 

Great  Lucifer  rebelled,  and  turned  his  might 
'Gainst  Love  and  Justice,  till,  self-outlawed.  Night 
Received  him,  and  the  loyal  heavens  were  free. 

A  myth !     Yet  Jesus,  too,  beheld  him  fall 

As  lightning  out  of  Heaven,  and  we,  as  well. 
In  spirit  see  the  same,  who  now  behold 

Prussia's  despotic  pride  attempt  to  thrall 

Mankind,  and  fall  eclipsed,  as  Satan  fell, 

By  world-wide  Freedom's  dawning  Age  of  Gold. 

April  19,  191 7. 

[5] 


LIEGE 


A  H,  little  Belgium,  that  in  Caesar's  age 

Wast  of  the  Gauls  the  bravest,  thou  hast  won 
In  ours  the  glorious  prize  of  those  that  run 
On  honor's  course,  and  dare  take  up  the  gage 

Tyrants  throw  down.      Thy  name  shines  on  the  page 
Time  saves  for  deeds  eternal.     When  the  Hun 
Sprang  at  his  western  victim,  there  was  none 
But  thee,  at  first,  to  brave  his  brutal  rage  — 

None  but  thy  soul  and  thee  at  Liege  to  stand. 
As  at  Thermopylae  the  Spartans  stood. 
That  Hellas  might  belong  to  Freedom's  heirs. 

All  that  Leonidas'  immortal  band 

Gave  at  its  gates  for  their  world's  highest  good, 
Leman  and  his  brave  Belgians  gave  for  theirs. 

October  3,   1916. 

[7] 


THE    MARNE 


^^  REATEST  of  rivers  crowned  by  destiny, 
Time  has  not  given  thee  all  thy  glory  yet, 
Nor  realized  how  measureless  the  debt 
Of  gratitude  mankind  will  owe  to  thee; 

For  on  thy  banks,  proud  Marne,  the  chivalry, 
Intelligence  and  faith  of  Freedom  met. 
Lured  on,  and,  crushing,  prisoned  in  a  net 
Of  trenches  Blood  and  Iron's  tyranny. 

Along  thy  eighty  leagues  of  ravished  plain 

France's  outnumbered  armies  stood,  and  fought, 
To  save  the  culture  of  the  Christian  West ; 

And,  flanked  by  Britain's  vanguard,  raised  again 

The  walls  of  Justice  Greece  and  Rome  had  wrought, 
The  spires  of  Peace  which  Palestine  had  blest. 

October  lo,   191 6. 

[9] 


JOFFRE 


VX/HENE'ER  her  goal  is  threatened.  Nature  makes 
A  man  in  her  own  image,  and  endows 
His  spirit  with  her  gifts.      Upon  his  brows 
Her  modesty  sits  lightly,  as  he  takes 

His  country's  fate  in  hand,  and  slowly  wakes 
To  gratitude  a  world,  whose  wonder  bows 
Before  a  name  long  centuries  will  house 
As  nobly  as  the  stars  are  shrined  by  lakes. 

Such,  JofFre,  seem  the  gifts  revealed  by  thee. 

Since  the  full  flood  of  Prussia's  pride  was  rolled 
Back  to  its  ebb  by  thy  sublime  Retreat. 

Thy  calm  prepared  the  Marne  for  victory  ; 

Thy  patient  firmness  steeled  the  Meuse  to  hold; 
Thy  silence  warns  the  Rhine  of  its  defeat. 

September  24,  1916. 


KITCHENER 


'VTOT  his  to  draw,  but  his  to  forge,  the  sword 
Which  Europe  asked  of  Britain  in  her  need  ; 
Not  his  to  hear  the  plaudits  of  the  freed. 
When  God's  '  Day*  dawns  on  Prussia's  broken  word; 

Nor  his  to  Hve,  who  could  so  well  afford 

To  pass,  and  let  some  fellow  Briton  lead 

The  promised  hosts,  whom  only  he  could  breed 

And  steel,  to  conquer  Prussia's  ruthless  horde. 

Not  his  to  win  on  Marne,  or  Meuse,  or  Rhine  ; 
Nor,  dying,  on  the  Thames  to  lie  in  state  ; 
But  from  the  sea  to  be  a  cry  at  night. 

Bidding  his  millions  rise  and  break  the  line. 

Where   Belgium's  thousands  hold  their  own,  and  wait 
Till  Right  is  strong  enough  to  vanquish  Might. 

June  lo,  1916. 

[»3] 


VERDUN 


A  S  stands  a  lighthouse  on  a  headland  rock, 

And  with  its  beams  illumes  the  surging  waves 
Hurled  blindly  by  the  envious  sea,  which  laves 
Its  deep  foundation's  challenge  to  their  shock; 

While,  maddened  by  the  patient  rays  that  mock 

Its  utmost  strength,  the  pride-lashed  water  braves 
The  beacon-tower,  and  scorns  the  flame  which  saves 
From  shipwreck  all  that  on  the  ocean  flock 

Its  wild  and  starless  waste  ;  so  standest  thou, 
Verdun,  against  the  dark,  material  might, 
Which  vainly  storms  thy  spirit  walls.      Naught  daunts 

The  courage  of  thy  sacrificial  vow 

That  none  shall  pass  o'er  thee,  to  quench  the  light 
Flashed  worldward  from  the  towering  soul  of  France. 

June  17,  1916. 

['5] 


FUORI    I    BARBARI 


npO   thee  was  given  the  hardest  task  of  all, 
Brave  Italy,  when  Europe  to  her  aid 
Summoned  the  nations  centuries  had  made 
Prime  guardians  of  the  light  which  Rome  to  Gaul, 

And  Gaul  to  Britain,  passed,  till  o'er  the  wall 

Of  western  seas  it  shone,  too*  bright  to  fade. 
For  thine  it  was  to  challenge,  undismayed. 
The  eastern  Huns  who,  with  thy  gates  in  thrall. 

Threatened  thy  garden  ;  then,  through  gun-swept  snows. 
Master  each  Alpine  peak  and  torrent-bed. 
And  fight, — by  faint  praise  cheered, — till  each  redout 

Held  as  a  threat  by  Rome's  transalpine  foes 

Was  Rome's  again,  and  Hadria's  watershed 
Joined  in  the  Latin  cry  :  "  Barbarians  out  !" 

August  1 8,  1 916. 


ALMA    ROMA 


CPIRIT  of  Rome,  eternal  Latin  Soul, 

Remembered  Mother  of  the  South  and  West, 
Thine  heirs  are  met  again,  to  stand  the  test 
Set  by  Barbarians  who  would  fain  control 

By  ruthless  Might  a  world,  whose  ancient  goal 

Was  Peace  through  Justice  !    What  the  gods  deemed  best 
They  gave  through  thee  ;   hence,  at  their  new  behest 
Thy  provinces  reform  their  whilom  whole. 

Caesar's  three  parts  of  Gaul,  Britannia's  strands 
And  Lusitania  join  with  Italy 
And  Africa,  to  win  the  Alps  and  Rhine  ; 

While  on  the  Danube,  Trajan's  Dacia  stands, 
And  calls  on  Greece  to  set  the  Orient  free ; 
And  only  Spain  forgets  that  she  was  thine. 

September  6,   1916. 

['9] 


ENGLAND'S     EFFORT 


XXZHAT   has  old  England  ventured  that  will  bear 
The  test  of  martyred  Belgium's  sacrifice 
Of  all  for  honor's  sake,  approach  the  price 
France  paid  for  loyalty,  or  yet  compare 

In  pluck  with  what  Italia's  legions  dare. 

Who  storm  the  Alps,  and  fight  through  fields  of  ice  ? 
What  that,  in  Death's  dark  ledger,  will  suffice 
To  balance  patient  Russia's  piteous  share  ? 

As  none  of  these  did,  England,  with  the  flower 
Of  all  her  bravest  having  crowned  the  cup 
All  had  to  drink,  to  save  each  from  the  Huns, 

Tasted  its  dregs  when,  in  the  midnight  hour 

Of  Freedom's  world-wide  peril,  she  gave  up 
The  individual  freedom  of  her  sons. 

May  24,  1917. 


THE    LUSITANIA 

(■) 

/^UT  on  the  loyal  Ocean's  lap  they  sailed. 
Scorning  the  threats  of  Man's  disloyal  foe. 
Since  sure  that  with  their  human  rights  would  go 
Protection  from  a  flag  which  never  quailed. 

Alas,  America,  for  naught  availed 

Thine  endless,  unbacked  warnings  to  bestow 

Safety  on  those  who,  now  so  long  ago. 

Were  slain,  and  since — have  only  been  bewailed  ! 

The  Lusitania's  drowned  unheeded  lie. 

Men,  babes  and  women,  clinging  to  a  flag, 
Which  on  the  ocean's  floor  lies  furled,  but  proud ; 

But  which  above  its  waves — the  world  asks  why — 
Floats  impotent  for  peace,  a  flouted  rag, 
The  shamed  precursor  of  a  people's  shroud. 

October  13,  1916. 

[^3] 


AMERICA'S    VERDICT 


/^'ER   Europe's  bomb-swept  trench  and  battle  field 
The  awful  thunders  of  her  War  are  heard, 
Drowning  the  whispers  of  a  peace  deferred 
Until  Injustice  has  been  forced  to  yield. 

Yet,  spite  of  fears  which  cannot  be  concealed. 

The  old  world's  hopes  today  are  strangely  stirred 

To  silence,  as  she  listens  for  the  word 

Whereby  the  new  world's  soul  shall  stand  revealed. 

America  unfolds  her  inmost  mind. 

Her  doom  upon  herself,  chooses  her  goal, 
And  paints  her  portrait  for  eternity  ; 

Hence  as  the  winged  words  of  her  spokesman  find 
Their  fated  way  to  voice  his  country's  soul. 
Humanity  asks  God  what  they  will  be. 

April  I,  191  7. 

[  ^5  ] 


THE     LUSITANIA 

{^) 

"^TAY,  not  a  shroud  !      For  as  a  wedding-gown 
For  Russia's  bridals  with  the  hero  hosts 
Of  Liberty,  it  rises  with  the  ghosts 
Of  martyrs  from  the  waves,  eager  to  crown 

The  destined  union  of  Mankind,  and  drown 
Disloyalty.      Unfurled  between  her  coasts, 
Columbia's  flag  makes  good  at  last  her  boasts 
Of  humanism,  her  century-old  renown. 

For  Belgium's  and  the  Lusitania's  sakes 

Italia  broke  her  bondage  to  the  North, 
And  armed,  to  save  the  Alps  from  tyranny  ; 

So  now,  across  the  Sea,  the  new  world  breaks 
Her  western  isolation,  and  sends  forth 
Her  sons,  to  set  the  old  world's  valleys  free. 

April  13,1917. 

[^7] 


AVE    DANTE 

1321-1921 

A  BOVE   Man's  war-wracked  world  a  veteran  throng 
Of  singing  spirits  gathers  in  the  air, 
Called  from  the  Poets'  Heaven  to  take  its  share 
In  Right's  impending  victory  over  Wrong. 

Far  in  its  van  the  Eagle  Eye  of  Song 

Looms  o'er  Ravenna,  where  he  died,  and  where 
He  saw  God's  Freedom  in  the  dazzling  glare 
Of  visions,  which  to  every  race  belong. 

Him  his  redeemed,  united  Italy — 

Her  Alps  new  crowned  with  Monza's  iron  band, 
Her  Hadria  wedded  with  her  Doge's  ring, — 

Hails  as  the  Prophet-Bard  of  Liberty, 

And  bids  the  free  of  every  tongue  and  land 
Join  in  her  Ave,  and  their  tribute  bring. 

October  28,  191 7. 

[^9] 


THE    PEACE    OF    GOD 


p)AST  understanding  is  the  Peace  of  God 
By  all  that  fail  His  Wrath  to  understand, 
Who  holds  the  olive  in  His  gentle  hand, 
And  in  the  other  a  chastising  rod. 

When  lightnings  kill  at  Jove's  Olympian  nod, 

When  tempests  drown  at  Neptune's  stern  command, 
Their  deeds  are  His,  whose  face  once  cheered  the  land 
With  smiles  of  love,  whose  feet  the  seas  once  trod. 

God  grant  us,  then,  to  understand  His  wrath 
By  trusting  in  the  justice  of  His  will, 
Whate'er  its  bidding,  till  War's  .trumpets  cease; 

And  follow  listening  on  the  painful  path 

Where  wrongs  are  righted,  loud  His  voice  or  still, 
Who,  not  as  man's  world  gives  it,  giveth  peace. 

June  22,  1917. 

[3'] 


GERMANY 


VVT'HAT,  Germany,  avails  thine  old  repute 
For  quaint  geniality  and  truthfulness, 
Now  that  in  falsehood  thou  dost  acquiesce. 
And  of  humanity  art  destitute  ? 

For,  having  made  thyself  the  prostitute 

Of  Prussia's  lust  for  power,  thy  pitiless 
Ambition  leaves  thee  naught,  wherewith  to  dress 
With  love  or  trust  a  strength  which  none  dispute. 

And  yet  thy  music,  wherein  thou  didst  reign 

Supreme,  and  what  was  once  thy  spirit's  bent, 
Gemuthlichkeit,  unless  thy  lute  be  riven. 

Doom  thee  to  sing,  whatever  Europe's  pain. 

Her  saddest  songs,  and  be — if  thou  repent — 
Her  dearest  child,  because  her  most  forgiven. 

June  28,   1917. 

[33] 


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